Price trend

According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of SunSirs, the domestic lithium carbonate market continued to operate weakly in August. From August 1st to 27th, the average market price of industrial grade lithium carbonate in China fell from 89,600 RMB/ton to 80,400 RMB/ton, with a price drop of 10.2% during the period and a year-on-year price drop of 62.7%; The average market price of battery grade lithium carbonate had dropped from 92,200 RMB/ton to 82,800 RMB/ton, with a price drop of 10.2% during the cycle and a year-on-year price drop of 64%.

Analysis review

Supply side: Due to the continuous decline of lithium carbonate in the past six months, lithium salt factories were facing cost pressure. Some companies had lowered their production expectations for August, but the extent of the reduction was limited and had not boosted the spot market. In terms of imports, multiple salt lake projects in Argentina will be put into operation in the second half of the year, and it is expected that the import volume in the second half of the year will be higher than that in the first half. The excess pressure is still quite evident.

Demand side: The market performance of positive electrode materials was average, and the willingness to stock up was not high. The customer supply and long-term cooperation basically met the downstream production demand, and downstream enterprises adopted a cautious and wait-and-see attitude towards the future market.

Cost side: The production of lithium mica had slightly decreased. The overall operating rate of lithium mica was low, and the demand for lithium mica from lithium salt factories was still weak, which had affected production enthusiasm. Although production had slightly decreased, mining companies still showed a certain degree of price support sentiment.

Lithium spodumene imports remained high: There were many new production capacities for lithium spodumene in China, and overseas mining companies had strong price support sentiment. Some large lithium salt factories had sufficient inventory and were adopting a wait-and-see attitude towards new purchases.

Market outlook

As of August 27th, the inventory of lithium carbonate was still at a high level, and there were no favorable factors on the demand side to support the rebound of lithium carbonate prices. The price of lithium carbonate will continue to operate weakly, depending on downstream market demand.

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